NASA, formed in response to the Cold War space race, had the original mission of exploring outer space. Later, it expanded this mission to include monitoring Earth's climate, and to this end it utilizes satellites to track environmental changes.
Which choice most effectively combines these sentences?
Formed in response to the Cold War space race, NASA has later expanded its mission from exploring outer space to monitoring Earth's climate; to this end, the agency utilizes satellites to track environmental changes.
NASA, formed in response to the Cold War space race, has expanded its original mission exploring outer space, and now monitors Earth's climate; this is in order to track environmental changes.
Monitoring Earth's climate by the utilization of satellites to track environmental changes is a new goal of NASA, which was originally formed in response to the Cold War space race, when its mission was to explore outer space.
Monitoring Earth's climate and utilizing satellites are two ways that NASA, originally formed after the Cold War space race in order to explore outer space, furthers its new goal of tracking environmental changes.
Correct Answer: A
Choice A is the best answer. It uses a semicolon to connect two independent clauses that describe the evolution of NASA's mission, using "to this end" to logically introduce the current activities.
Choice B is incorrect because it contains a comma splice after "conflict" and is wordier. Choice C is incorrect because it turns the main action into a noun phrase ("Monitoring... is a new goal"), making the sentence passive and clunky. Choice D is incorrect because it awkwardly lists "Monitoring" and "utilizing" as "two ways," changing the logical focus of the original sentences.